BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana wildlife officials say they have applied for a special "conservation hunt" for endangered gray wolves.

Seventy-two wolves were killed in the state's inaugural wolf hunt last year. But this year's season was blocked when U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy restored Endangered Species Act protections for the animals on Aug. 5.

The proposed conservation hunt would be modeled on the canceled hunt with a quota of 186 wolves.

State officials earlier this month asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for an expedited decision on their application so hunting could take place this fall. The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from wildlife advocates who accuse the state of making an end-run around the courts.

Pictures from our front porch of the Stout Fire from Sutherlin on the evening of July 30, 2015. Later in the evening after the moon rise, the effect of the smoke from the fires in Douglas County on the moon.